From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is my unsung hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

Hi, Shankar. My unsung hero is a Frenchman.

She had given me exactly what I needed in that time.

I was fortunate enough to survive with the help of this man, this doctor, who went out of his way to help save my life.

Today's story comes from Laura Holmes Haddad.

In March 2017, Laura was undergoing chemotherapy for stage four breast cancer.

She was 37 years old and had two small children.

On this particular day, she went for an x-ray at a large hospital in San Francisco.

I got x-rays and scans constantly, so it was nothing new to me. But I was getting used to the anonymous feeling of being a patient, just a medical record

number, shivering in a white and blue hospital gown and scratchy blue hospital socks.

And I was completely bald.

I was still adjusting to life without hair and feeling very self-conscious.

And I didn't wear a wig, but I wouldn't go outside my house without my headscarf.

But in the x-ray room, I had to take off my scarf. And I was so upset and just

distraught about being bald in front of a stranger. But the x-ray tech, a man, was bald also,

which made me feel a little bit better. He was average height wearing scrubs,

and he had very kind blue eyes. And he was very gentle with me as he helped me onto the table

and adjusted the weighted vest. And what stood out the most was his melodic Irish accent. And he just emanated kindness.

And I'm not sure what came over me, but as I was lying down on my back, waiting for the x-ray

and holding my scarf down by my side, I told the man that people stared at me and how much it upset

me. And I hadn't prepared for that with cancer. I hadn't prepared for the staring.

...